TRE - Comhaltas Archive

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Jim McAllisteris to BlameWell jim McAllister of head office staffmay be to blame but we thank him forit.jim suggested at Comhaltas Congressthat under the Athnuachan venturebranches may consider twinning withanother branch at least 100 miles away.At the South Birmingham branch ofComhaltas we had already becomefriendly with some of the officials fromthe Roslea branch in Fermanagh. Wemade arrangements for a visit from thebranch and had a very busy and fulfilledweekend in Birmingham. However. thereturn visit is what I will report on here.10 branch members from SouthBirmingham flew in to Belfast CityAirport where they were greeted by jimMcCague the proprietor of the RosleaArms pub. jim took us in his luxury minibus to Roslea where there was a warmwelcome for us at the Roslea Arms ledby Sonny McDermott. Of course asession followed with music fromMichael Curran (button accordion).Melissa and Sabina McCague (Fiddles).Mairead Sheridan (whistle fiddle). AislingMcPhillips (flute). Gary Lynch (Fiddle andmain man). Tom Beagan (singer). andjimmy Callaghan (singer) along with usfrom South Birmingham. We were alsojoined by jarlath Brennan a br illiantbanjo player from Sligo who now livesand works in Dublin.From then on the session seemed tojust keep going for the whole weekend.Our lodgings were in magnificentholiday apartments in Knockatallon.Co Monaghan. where in the spaciouskitchen/living area sessions of music andsong would take place. We even had abroom dance performed by our ownDaniel O ·Connor.On Saturday we were shown around theRoslea Heritage Centre. seeing forourselves the history and social/economic fabric of the locality. In theevening we were taken to Clones for alovely meal. which was followed bymusic and song. More music at home inKnockatallon before retiring for thenight in a very tired state. I was wokenearly in the morning by the sound ofTommy Boyle (drummer with theSruleen Ceilf band) playing the 'Boys ofLough Gowna' jig on the accordion. Fairplay Tommy a nice tune well played.Tommy does not like to play the box infront of any audience. large or small . sowe were very lucky to hear him play.although it was a bit early in themorning. Tommy was brought up inFivemiletown in Co Tyrone. whereMichael Curran and his family r un apub. It was very appropriate for us tovisit Fivemiletown with Tommy for himto show us around. A quick andwelcoming drink in Michael's pub.before heading back to Knockatallon.More music and song on the Sundayafternoon as we watched the All IrelandFootball Final on the television. We weretreated to some captivating music fromMelissa and Sabina who are indeedclassy musicians. Then jim arrived withthe mini bus and all too soon we wereheading back to the Airport having saidour Goodbyes to our friends in Roslea.The hospitality. fun and friendship weexperienced in Roslea will not beforgotten. Thanks Roslea. we arelooking forward to having you backin Birmingham soon.
'Take Comhaltas out of the equation,turn back the clock and contemplateIreland without Comhaltas and thesheer scale of what we owe you isrevealed.'This fulsome tribute was paid toComhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann byPresident Mary McAleese at acelebration to mark the 50 thanniversary of the Irish Traditionalmusic movement in the MansionHouse, Dublin, on the 29 thSeptember 200 I.'Generations of Irish men, women andchildren.' The President said, 'havetapped their feet to the lilt of Irishmusic that's been made by Comhaltas.So often when we listen we fail tounderstand the extraordinary legacythat tradition gives us .'W!>1r.known personalities withrisiJ;IG yaung stars at aComhaltas Tunaion in Britain'We are proud of that ancient artform, once the preserve of firesideand local crossroads and which todayenjoys such widespread popularity atthe global crossroads of the modernworld.' The President concluded.The challenge presented to thefounders of Comhaltas at theinaugural meeting held in Mullingar in1951 was accepted withdetermination and imagination.The native music and other nativetraditions were in danger of beingignored.In the intervening years, thousands ofpeople who supported Comhaltashave helped to propagate andinvigorate these traditions. They havebeen brought centre stage at homeand abroad. Through the readyavailability of classes young peoplehave been given the opportunity toknow and appreciate Irish traditionalmusic, song and dance. This is nowregarded as a cultural phenomenon.The 400 branches of Comhaltasworldwide are the hallmark of themovement's success. These branches, in15 countries on 4 continents havecome into existence and have beencultivated by selfless service on thepart of many. It is the work of thesebranches at local level, which is themain contribution of Comhaltas to thecultural life in Ireland.The efforts ofthe unsung heroes in these branches,who go about their work quietly andconsistently, have helped to ensure thatmany a young musician, singer ordancer has been brought to national -indeed international - prominence.These same unsung heroes haveexposed whole communities totraditions, which might otherwise haveremained obscure. This will be thelegacy of these fine people - this willbe their monument.It is particularly gratifying to knowthat the cultural traditions of Irelandare so revered and practised in faraway branches of Comhaltas in Tokyo,Sardinia, Moscow and so many more.Music is, indeed, a universal languagethat recognises no boundaries.Up to 2m people attend Comhaltasevents each year. Fleadh Cheoil nahEireann in Clonmel attracted 250,000with 10,000 performers. The sameweekend the pop festival in Slaneattracted 80,OOO!The interesting thing about this newcultural revolution is that the vastmajority of participants are youngpeople. From its earliest years,Comhaltas appreciated the necessityof passing on our traditional arts tothe younger generation.The social scene was changing in Irelandand the same opportunities for youngpeople to be exposed to native musicmaking and dancing were disappearing.The house-dance and crossroadsdancewere giving way to the many34
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Page 4 and 5: TREOIRIrish Music Feilein theAmeric
Page 6 and 7: TREOIRfildlClItIC)n newspapers~rin2
Page 8 and 9: TREOIRFiddler of O riel in Monaghan
Page 10 and 11: Kalie I1cNamara. KerryTREOIRlnd enj
Page 12 and 13: TREOIRPffiR HORANGERRY HARAINGTONSi
Page 14 and 15: Ag Deanarnh CeoilDance music tunes
Page 16 and 17: Coleman RememberedThe 25 th Anniver
Page 18 and 19: Paddy RyanIn traditional Irish arts
Page 20 and 21: TREOIRThe author traditional singer
Page 22: TREOIRHigh-Flying Dancer•'Soaring
Page 25 and 26: TREOIRLichfield I rish WeekendAn ou
Page 27 and 28: 47TREOIR
Page 30 and 31: To order, please complete the secti
Page 32 and 33: S COMHALTASweekend of Traditional M
Page 34 and 35: S COMHALTASForgottenPipers ofTipper
Page 38 and 39: 9 COMHALTASFleadh MemoriesGarry McM
Page 40 and 41: S COMHALTASauthority on hurling. Ma
Page 42 and 43: TREOIRAbair AmhranTandragee(The Rol
Page 44 and 45: Jack RocheThe Rockchapel branch of
Page 46 and 47: Daithi KearneyAg Rince ar na sraide
Page 48 and 49: 9 COMHALTASMater. It was sold by di
Page 50 and 51: Deirdre Byrne"A rugadh cois lochann
Page 52 and 53: Bill McEvoyThe early nineteen eight
Page 54 and 55: GovernmentFundingWelcomedComhaltas
Page 56: A Banner Launch forFoinn Seisiun 2

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